In-Yo: Fates Intertwined
by Slinking Fox
Summary: Three chosen children have had the powers of Hikari, Yami and Chikyū bestowed upon them, but they lead very different lives. The child of Hikari chosing the life of a ninja, the child of Yami attending Niten Ichi-Ryū to train in the way of the samurai. The child of Chikyū is alone and afraid in the streets, too scared to trust anyone in case they discover her secret.
1. Prologue

And I'm back with ANOTHER fanfiction. Hope you guys like this one; don't know where exactly it came from... I believe my friend and I were talking about the gods keeping their promises of cheese... Not joking here. It was a very serious debate.

I don't own Digimon.

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**In-Yo: Fates Intertwined  
****Prologue**

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You can put your faith in the ones you love but the ones who come through for you are the ones that you can never love enough - Veronica Mars

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Hasegawa Satoshi gazed upon the twins placed before him, both delicately swathed in blankets, one black and one white. On the white blanket was the symbol of Yin with the name Kouichi stitched in black while on the black blanket was the symbol of Yang with the name Kouji stitched on in white thread.

Then, a third child was placed in between them, wrapped in a blanket of black and white with the Yin-Yang symbol and the name Chiaki stitched on in both colour threads, switching from black to white and back again every second letter.

Satoshi smiled softly at the one in the middle before taking a bowl of murky liquid in his hands and raising it above the first child, "By the power vested in me by the god of creation and death, Izanami, I declare Kimura Kouichi the bearer of the spirit of Yami, protector of the powers of Jigoku!"

He then gestured to _daimyo _Kamakura to take the first child known as Kimura Kouichi, placing the bowl underneath the child as the man did so. He then took the baby and removed the blanket before dipping his right thumb into the liquid and tracing a 闇 symbol onto his right cheek before dipping him in the water completely.

The baby screamed in protest as he was dipped in, but when he came out, his previously-blue eyes flashed black for the briefest moment as a black tattoo of the 闇 symbol appeared where Satoshi had traced it.

_Daimyo _Kamakura then wrapped the blanket around the quiet baby and laid him down again as Satoshi had the bowl removed before picking up a second one, this time being crystal clear, "By the power vested in my by the god of dawn and revelry, Ame-no-Uzume, I declare Minamoto Kouji the bearer of the spirit of Hikari, protector of the powers of Tengoku!"

This time, _daimyo _Takatomi held the child as Satoshi placed the bowl on the table. Then Satoshi unravelled the child and dipped his left thumb into the liquid, tracing a 光 symbol on his left cheek. He then dipped him into the water.

Unlike his brother, Kouji didn't scream, rather gurgling happily as the water lapped over him. When he was removed, his cobalt eyes flashed white as a white tattoo of the 光 symbol appeared where Satoshi had traced it.

Finally, Satoshi turned to Chiaki, taking the girl himself as the five _daimyos _surrounded him, each of them holding a small vial of silver liquid, "By the power trusted to us by Hasegawa Satoshi and the god of the moon, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, we declare Miyamoto Chiaki the bearer of the spirit of Heikō, protector of the spirits of Chikyū."

Then they moved forward as one while Satoshi freed the girl of her blanket before unstopping the vials and pouring every drop of liquid onto the girl's forehead. Then, Satoshi traced two symbols - 平衡 - onto her forehead, smiling slightly as the former became white, the later black.

Then, he placed the child back in its original position with Kouji and Kouichi before turning to the _daimyos_, "If anything is to happen to me and the rest of you by the hands of a trusted one," his eyes flickered to the impassive _daimyo _Kamakura for a second, "these three are to be the future rulers. Otherwise, let them remain unaware."

"Satoshi-san," _daimyo _Akechi began hesitantly, "is that fair on the children? With the powers just bestowed upon them, they will find themselves harder to control the longer they remain unaware. Surely it would be better to tell them once they come of age?"

"That was an order," Satoshi stated harsly, causing the _daimyo _to wince. It wasn't often that the seventeen-year-old rightful ruler of Japan was angered what with his peaceful demanour, but when he was, it was advised to pray to every single god that you were not the one his rage was directed at. "We do not need to endanger their lives this early on."

After a moment, _daimyo _Akechi bowed in agreement.

Then the twins were removed from the room by their family. Satoshi gazed at Chiaki longingly for another moment, "I apologise for this. It is not my wish to leave you, but your mother is gone and I, regretfully, cannot claim you as my own."

He then picked up Ebisu and handed the child to the man escorting _daimyo _Takatomi, "Masamoto-sama... please take this child. Do not take her in as your own; you have already been kind enough to accept the foreigner. Just leave her with someone trustworthy."

"As you wish," Masamoto-sama bowed and took the child. "But if I may, why is she keeping her mother's maiden name?"

"It is only right," Satoshi sighed, head lowered. "She died upon giving birth to our possible salvation... that and the father is unknown. Besides, the Miyamoto bloodline is powerful; it will take her far."

Masamoto-sama then bowed again and - with a nod of approval from _daimyo _Takatomi - left with Chiaki in his arms.

All was silent until he returned an hour later, at which stage everyone save Satoshi stood up to leave.

After the five _daimyos _and their escorts had left, Satoshi sighed, staring outside as the moon began to set and the sky turned peachy in colour, "Forgive me... my daughter."


	2. Chapter 1: The Name of the Game

**In-Yo: Fates Intertwined  
Chapter One  
The Name of the Game**

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Immortal until proven otherwise - Anonymous

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Two dark figures crept through the darkness, their feet not making any noise on the springy grass as they remained on the balls of their feet, tense and ready to jump into a nearby tree if necessary.

Hearing a rustle, the female paused, hand on the kunai in her belt as the male reached into his jacket, but they were put at ease when a mere squirrel darted out from a bush and scurried to the refuge the trees above provided. They then continued on their silent journey towards the structure in front of them; a large stone wall with two guards stationed on top.

As the duo pressed themselves up against the wall, one guard yawned, "What's the point of us being out here? No one is stupid enough to try and enter."

"Because that's what Kamakura-sama has ordered," his companion sighed, switching his staff from his right hand to his left. "Besides, we're getting paid to do it."

"Good point," the first grunted, stretching, not noticing the figures sneaking along the wall. "It still seems pointless though."

"Just shut up; I've got a killer headache," the second groaned, rubbing his head as all grew silent again.

Thankful for the guards' apparent carelessness, the figures quickly scaled the forty-foot wall, leaping over the edge and landing in a crouched position in the garden.

Standing up, the female paused to take in the beauty of the area; marble fountains spurted crystal-clear water from the mouths of kappas, tengu and tenko while branches of sakura trees lazily drifted to the south with the gentle breeze.

A quiet stream trickled slowly into a stone well while a smooth, gravel path led up to a majestic castle keep.

Creeping along the edge, the duo thanked the gods that their clan opted for a black uniform, allowing them to blend into the shadows along the outer walls, hiding them from the guards. Then, they reached the farthest that they could go at the edge and briefly glanced around for guards before sprinting towards the keep and easily scaling the walls up to the fourth floor.

As the male ducked inside, he glanced outside out of the corner of his eye, breathing a sigh of relief as a guard walked by underneath him a few seconds later; they had been extremely lucky.

He then took a deep breath and the duo confidently strode down the corridor, ducking down as a guard neared them. The female gripped her kunai tightly, violet eyes narrowed as the man paused and glanced around before shrugging and continuing on. As she was about to throw it however, her companion grabbed her wrist and shook his head slowly, stopping her.

Sighing, the figure stood up, keeping her kunai in her grip as they continued on. There was no point in killing the guard if he remained oblivious to them, she supposed; it would only draw unnecessary attention to them.

They continued prowling through the slowly brightening hallways for a few minutes before finally finding the right room and sliding open the Shoji door, finding a hunched figure kneeling in front of a table.

With a look of contempt, the male slid the door shut again, walking into the brighter room, revealing themselves for the first time.

The female had red hair pulled back into a spiky ponytail. Her skin was porcelain white and her violet eyes held a cold look of disgust and lethality. She wore a short-sleeved, polo-neck black t-shirt with a dark grey broken heart print and matching trousers that reached her ankles. A black glove covered one hand, a pouch stitched onto it concealing several shuriken from the naked eye. Her sandals looked a lot like combat boots with a tight strap that didn't cover her black-socked feet so that they were easier to move around in, and a black belt with a strap for kunai was buckled around her waist. Finally, she had a black belt tied around her right thigh and had a slight bulge in her back pocket as though she held something there.

The boy on the other hand had raven hair with a tint of blue in it pulled into a ponytail that reached his shoulder blades hidden under a black bandana. He wore an open black sports jacket over a plain black t-shirt with black trousers that reached his ankles, barely covering his black socks and running shoes. He too had a fingerless glove on one hand, also concealing weaponry, but he bore no belt around one leg, instead having a hidden pocket in his jacket. Conveniantly, the long bangs of his hair that he couldn't tie back were covering his cheeks - which seemed to annoy the figure slightly.

"Do you have it?" the kneeling figure asked, turning to look at the red-haired girl, his eyes lingering on her large chest and curved hips for a brief moment.

She silently reached into her back pocket and pulled out a sealed scroll with the kanji '私の娘で開かれる' written on it, meaning 'to be opened by my daughter'.

"Excellent," the man smirked and reached for the scroll only to scowl as the female yanked it back. "Come on; hand it over!"

"I get my money, you get his scroll," she stated clearly in a strong, indifferent voice.

"Very well," he sighed, taking a fat, leather pouch from a fold in his kimono and handing it to the male.

He weighed it in one hand before opening it and examining the golden, silver and bronze coins inside.

"You doubt me?" the man growled, angered by her actions.

"Just a precaution, Kamakura-sama," he explained in the same respect-demanding voice as his comrade, re-tying the pouch. "You'd be surprised how many times people try to con us with stones, shells and pieces of glass. None of them live very long to regret the decision."

The girl then handed the man identified as Kamakura the scroll and began walking out of the room, only to pause as he called them back.

"I may have another assignment for you soon."

"Are you able to pre-pay?" the boy inquired as he scowled.

"I have other things to pay for."

"And we have other customers to work for," the female examined her nails, one hand outstretched for another pouch of gold - which he hesitantly handed her.

After examining it, she nodded curtly before leaving the room, "I'll be waiting for your call."

* * *

"Kimura! Orimoto!"

Kimura Kouichi jolted awake, eyes wide in shock to find himself - not in the hunched man's room - but his bedroom in the Niten Ichi-Ryū with his roommate Orimoto Izumi and Nakamura-sensei raising one eyebrow at him expectantly. Quickly, Kouichi and Izumi alike rose and bowed respectfully, "Sensei?"

"It's time," Nakamura-sensei stated simply, as though telling the duo that it was time for dinner. In fact, that's what Izumi apparently thought her sensei meant for a brief moment. But that was until she saw the envelope and the worry in Nakamura-sensei's eyes.

Gulping, she nodded and grabbed a rucksack, filling it as Kouichi quickly packed his own with the essentials; bottles of water, food, money, a small blanket and a Daruma doll.

Nakamura-sensei raised her eyebrows at the sight of the Daruma doll, but remained silent as Kouichi gazed at his katana, wakizashi, bō and bow and arrow before grabbing all of them while Izumi simply took a bow, arrows and a few sharp fans with steel spines.

Nakamura-sensei nodded in approval before handing Kouichi the envelope and bowing in farewell, "I wish you luck."

"Thank you, sensei," the duo bowed as well before sighing and walking out of the room. They walked silently through the halls of the Niten Ichi-Ryū, one of Kouichi's hands subconsciously touching the 闇 mark on his cheek as though for good luck.

Although they were younger than most, being no more than a day over sixteen while Izumi was still fifteen, he knew that their time at the Niten Ichi-Ryū was over... at least for the remainder of the year.

Samurai who received 'envelopes' were the best in their year. But it wasn't the envelope that was important; it was what was inside.

The names of certain ninja that brought disgrace to the school or had advanced into their territory.

Taking a shaky breath as they left the plain halls and walked into the magnificent garden filled with blooming sakura blossoms and koi ponds, Kouichi leaned against the outer wall of the structure before looking at Izumi as if for permission and slowly opening the envelope, staring at the names written on the rice paper.

_Minamoto Kouji and Makino Ruki of the Okami Clan, hm? _ He grinned, excitement replacing his nervousness as he handed Izumi the names and they left the grounds of the school. _This will be interesting._

* * *

"Get back here!"

Chiaki didn't bother glancing behind her as she pelted through the roughly-paved streets, carefully avoiding the wet puddles of gods know what lying in the streets, already knowing how close her pursuer was by the sound of his heaving breath; too close.

Gulping, Chiaki glanced sideways before darting down a narrow side street, praying to Bishamonten that the man was too fat to continue the chase.

Unfortunately, the man barely managed to squeeze through the entrance to the alley before continuing to chase after Chiaki.

Groaning, the hazel-haired girl paused next to a stack of crates and pushed them, causing them to scatter all over the alleyway.

_That'll slow him down,_Chiaki smirked and continued running as the man cursed in French before ploughing his way through the crates. "Or not…"

"Quick; in here!"

Hearing the quiet command, Chiaki froze, nervously glancing around only to be yanked into an abandoned house by her elbow.

Chiaki hardly dared to breath as her pursuer dashed past, not even bothering to glance into the house. After a minute, she sighed in relief, glancing at her saviour, "Thank you…"

"No problem, Chiaki," the boy, Teruo, smiled, blowing his mousey brown hair out of his green eyes. "Besides, clans stick together."

"If they didn't, we'd all be dead by now," Chiaki sighed, well used to her partner in the infamous black market group Honyūrui.

"I'm with you there," Teruo sighed as the two stepped outside the house.

They both wore plain clothing; not because Honyūrui demanded as suck, but because it was the cheapest clothing that the two orphans could get their hands on.

Teruo wore a thin green, long-sleeved shirt with navy jeans and worn green running shoes while Chiaki donned a light blue t-shirt, a dark blue skirt and equally worn orange shoes. Thankfully, Honyūrui did provide leather jackets with their codenames - which were for use only with customers - on the back, or the duo would have frozen to death several winters before.

"I almost had him though," Chiaki growled, blowing a lock of her hair out of her brown eyes, revealing her black-and-white tattoo-like mark in the process. "If only that stupid dog hadn't tripped me…"

"Mm…" Teruo hummed in silent agreement, eyes on the mark on Chiaki's forehead. "Chiaki, where did that mark come from?"

"This?" Chiaki pointed to the chikyū mark. "I've had it since I was born."

The conversation died out there until Teruo crashed into someone.

"Watch where you're going, brat!" the man he had crashed into snarled angrily, one hand raised as the fourteen year old fell to the ground.

"Leave him alone; it was an accident!" Chiaki leapt to her friend's defence, but was thrown out of the way by the man.

Before he could land his physical assault on Teruo though, he found his hand in the tight grasp of a pale hand.

"I thought she told you to leave him alone."

Behind him was a woman of sixteen, her hair red, her violet eyes narrowed, a grim scowl set on her features as she released his hand.

Chiaki took that time to take in the woman's appearance.

She wore a dark brown trench coat over a white shirt with navy sleeves and a matching broken heart print, a pair of jeans that matched with several belts tied around her legs. On her feet were brown combat boots and her hands sported brown wristbands.

Behind her, a male stood watching with an impassible look on his face. He wore a blue sports jacket with yellow lines running down the arms over a yellow t-shirt with a black hem. His grey trousers barely covered his blue socks or white-and-blue running shoes while his raven hair - which had a tint of blue to it - was tied into a ponytail and was covered by a blue-and-grey bandana. On his cheek was the symbol of hikari in white.

But the only thing that the man seemed interested in was the female's unusually large chest, "I'll leave him alone if you fuck me."

When she remained silent, he took it as a sign of agreement and moved towards her until there were only millimetres between them, not noticing her companion look at her expectantly.

Chiaki almost glanced away, but was saved the trouble when the girl quickly grabbed the man's shoulders and pushed him down, kneeing him in the groin before punching him in the face and sending him sprawling into a wall.

"You kids alright?" her companion inquired, one eyebrow raised as Teruo helped Chiaki up, the later having fallen when the man pushed her.

She nodded, eyes wide, "T-t-thank you, but... we don't have any money..."

For a moment, the female's eyes softened slightly. Then she glanced away, snorting slightly, "Forget about it; just don't make us save you a third time."

"Third time?" Chiaki blinked only to yelp as she pushed her down, judo flipping the angered male just as he was about to grab Teruo.

"Third time," she smirked slightly as the man landed unconscious on the ground, winking as she turned and left with her comrade.

"Who was that?" Teruo breathed in awe as Chiaki blinked again.

"They never said..."

* * *

Izumi walked cautiously towards the bar, poking her head through the rotting wooden door quickly before entering, Kouichi having entered a neighbouring one for the same reason; information.

It was obvious that the men inside were _very _appreciative of women, for they whistled loudly as she passed them.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Izumi gazed around the musty room, her eyes quickly settling on a white-haired man sitting by himself at the end of the building, a large scroll propped up on a cushion beside him. As she made her way towards him, every man groaned in disappointment before turning back to their drinks.

The elder man looked up, his eyes glinting sadistically as Izumi knelled down beside him, smoothing the wrinkles out of her purple skirt, matching body-warmer and blue-and-white striped tube top.

Before he could say anything, Izumi raised an eyebrow, "Saruwatari Jiraiya?"

"Depends on who's asking," Jiraiya licked his lips nervously as Izumi pushed the envelope across the table towards him. "Eh?"

"I'm looking for these ninja," Izumi explained quietly. "I was told that you might know where they are."

"You're right; I might," Jjiraiya smirked slightly, his eyes travelling down her body. "But with information comes a price."

"Pervertito!" Izumi insulted in Italian. "I'm not that kind of girl! But I can pay."

She pulled a black pearl out of the sleeve of her kimono, placing it on the table.

As soon as her hand left the object, Jiraiya snatched it and held it up to his eye, "It's real?"

"Yes," Izumi confirmed as Jiraiya placed it in his coat pocket. "Now the information."

"All that I know is she lives near anger, travels near death and serves near war," Jiraiya smirked as Izumi frowned at the riddle.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not sure," he shrugged, standing up shakily. "Maybe you should consult the gods; a temple of Hotei is nearby."

As he left, Izumi remained sitting for a brief moment, "Lives near anger... travels near death... and serves near war..." she paused again before shaking her head and standing up. "I guess it couldn't hurt to- oh my gods!"

She suddenly sprinted out of the building, earning her several odd looks. As fast as possible - which wasn't all that fast in a skirt - she ran to the pub that Kouichi was in and dragged him towards temple of Hotei, examining it before smirking at the envelope in her hand, ignoring the raven's bewildered look, "We'll have you sooner than we originally thought."

* * *

Minamoto Kouji and Makino Ruki swept confidently through the Okami Clan base, sparing no glances at the statues of Okuri-inu, nor their fellow ninja standing to attention at doors as guards when they saw her approaching.

"Password?" One inquired as they breezed past.

"Mars of Rome," they called in unison over their shoulders as he nodded and allowed them to pass without further question.

They then reached a large set of double doors which - after examining them slightly - a pair of guards opened.

They then walked past them and into a magnificent throne room, falling into a bow on one knee directed at the two figures on the dark thrones.

"Minamoto, Makino," one, a male, greeted, his blonde hair hanging in his steely blue eyes, which were just as cold as his tone. "Your news?"

"Kamakura received the scroll and has given payment," Kouji stated, eyes remaining on the speaker's mouth, never making eye contact as a sign of respect from a lower rank. Not that he was afraid of the male.

It was that the Okami Clan was based on respect, much like a wolf pack. The two on the thrones were the alpha male and female, he, Ruki and their fellow ninja were enforcers. Some of lower ranks acted as 'hunters', gathering information, and those who were strong of body but not of mind acted as guard dogs.

Two ninja were 'mothers' and took care of any children or pregnant female ninja until such a time that they could perform their duties again.

And being structured like a wolf pack, if you had someone's respect, they would do as you asked. If you didn't, they would ignore you. And if you went against the Clan or put it in danger for your own selfish deeds - no matter if you were an infant or leader - you would be killed in a most painful, excruciating way.

"Anything else?" the female pressed as Ruki switched her gaze to her.

"He requested us as reserve in case he had any other jobs," Ruki slowly explained as Kouji pulled the two bags of money out of his hidden pocket and handed them to the two 'alphas'. "He prepaid."

"Good," the male nodded in curt approval. "You may leave now."

"Alright," the duo bowed from the waist down as they stood. "Thank you, Aonuma-sama, Amano-sama."

They then turned and briskly left the room, pausing at the door as the female - Amano-sama - called her back, "Minamoto, Makino? You're being tracked."

Kouji smirked and nodded in recognition, "We know."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"We're going to have our fun," Ruki's smirk grew as she left the room with her comrade and the guards closed the doors behind them.

Cautiously, Amano-sama turned to the alpha male, "You don't think they'll put the Clan in danger for their 'game', do you?"

"If they do," Aonuma-sama growled in a canine-like manner, fingers gripping the armrests of the throne tightly, "I'll kill them myself."

* * *

Kamakura gazed at the scroll in his hands and slowly unsealed it, yelping and dropping it as a hologram appeared, "What kind of sorcery is this?!"

_"__My daughter,"_ the hologram flickered slightly, but it was unmistakably the figure of the deceased Hasegawa Satoshi – who had taken his own life through seppuku. _"If you are watching this, then I am obviously dead."_

"Really?" Kamakura's eyes widened in mock amusement as Satoshi continued as though uninterrupted.

_"__War is coming, my child, and you must be prepared. But you need not face it alone."_

At that, Kamakura's eyes gleamed with delight, hardly breathing as Satoshi continued, _"As you may know, you aren't normal. That mark on your forehead proves it. You carry in you the spirit of Chikyū."_

"That was _his_ daughter?" Kamakura gasped, remembering the child he and the other four _daimyos _had blessed sixteen years previously. "I could have taken her out while I had the chance…"

_"__The children of Yami and Hikari will fight by your side," _Satoshi continued, flickering slightly as he blinked, "_and rule with you when it is all over."_

"In hell they will," Kamakura snarled, teeth gritted as Satoshi took a deep breath.

"_I only have a short time left, so I must tell you before I go…" _he paused. _"You, Hikari and Yami may be the strongest, but you are only three of many. Don't think that your search will be over when you find them; you will find yourself facing many dangers even worse than what you can imagine. For you… are a Yōso no Hogo-Sha and you will survive if you manage to-"_

Satoshi froze causing Kamakura's hands to clench in frustration as the deceased male faded out of existence, "You bastard! You're a menace, even in the afterlife!"

Kamakura glared at the scroll before taking a deep breath and rolling it up again, "But you have helped me I suppose. Now all I need to do is find Miyamoto-Hasegawa Chiaki and destroy her once and for all."

* * *

Two young boys trekked through the snow, one obviously uncomfortable and exhausted, one seeming fine even though he was in nothing more than a t-shirt and shorts in the middle of a blizzard.

"I can't... keep this up," the first panted, falling to his hands and knees, his red jacket making his previously olive-tan skin look even paler, his hazel eyes underlined in black, his chestnut hair tousled.

"Come on," the later grunted as he grabbed his companion's hand, almost pulling the olive-green gloves off male's hands. "I know that you can do this, Takuya!"

"I can't," Kanbara Takuya groaned, sweat dripping down his face as he forced himself into a standing position, revealing his green Bermuda jeans, yellow t-shirt, his red jacket and red-and-orange running shoes as well as a red 火災 symbol on the right side of his neck. "Tomoki, there's another two miles of snow."

"You know what Sinoba would say right now?" Himi Tomoki hissed, referring to their classmate Shinoba who often bullied Takuya for easily getting sick. "Weakling_;_ if you can't stand it here, you should go back to your hot water bottle."

Growling, Takuya glared at Tomoki lightly, scanning the two-years-younger boy's white t-shirt, yellow shorts, orange pumpkin and green-and-white running shoes, a cerulean 氷 on his shoulder, "How are you not frozen?!"

"I'm Kōri, your Kasai," Tomoki shrugged before taking Takuya's hand and guiding him through the snow. "Come on; Kyoto shouldn't be too far away anymore. Besides, if we turn around, it'll take twice as long to get home than it would to continue."

Shivering, Takuya glanced behind him before nodding and pulling his red jacket closer around him, his eyes hardening, "Right; let's go."

* * *

So, what did you guys think? Please review whether you liked it or not!

_Digidestined Ninja of Sunshine: _Thanks and that's just a fail! XD I'm glad you like the prologue and I hope this chapter appeals to you just as much.

* * *

Sincerely,  
Your Loyal Author,  
Slinking Fox


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